Taming The Hidden Bigshot By Kissing Him
Chapter 538: There’s Something Wrong with That Woman

Chapter 538: Chapter 538: There’s Something Wrong with That Woman

A petite figure approached the entrance.

At this moment, she was the focus of the entire venue!

Qiao Xi actually made it at the last minute!

She walked unhurriedly to the sign-in area with her right hand wrapped in gauze, and signed her name.

"She really dared to come!"

"She came with such a hand injury, isn’t she afraid of losing!"

"I really admire her, not being a deserter at a time like this."

The audience was abuzz with comments.

Putting down the pen, Qiao Xi walked to the contestant area and slightly nodded her head as a greeting to Shen Xuanzhi while passing by him.

Her complexion was not good, obviously looking like someone who had just recovered from a serious illness.

One glance and it was clear her condition wasn’t great.

Qiao Xi took her place, just as the clock struck ten.

The judges took their places, and Lu Bannong cast a glance at her before picking up the microphone to announce the rules for the third round, repeating the rules of the previous two rounds once again.

Qiao Xi pursed her lips, her gaze sweeping over the VIP seats. When she saw Huo Xingzhou and Sun Weimeng, the corners of her mouth slightly lifted.

She took a deep breath and steadied her breathing.

She hadn’t intentionally arrived at the last moment.

This morning, she had received a rare message from Cheng Han’s account, which had immediately put her on edge.

The message read, "Give up the third round of the Acupuncture Competition, or Cheng Han will die."

Qiao Xi dared not joke with Grandpa Cheng’s life, so she immediately handed the message over to Huo Xingzhou.

It was up to him to determine the authenticity of the source.

Eventually, the message was proven to be false, and it was traced back to the Banshan Qiushui Villa Area in the Imperial Capital.

The Lu Family and the Xiang Family were both located in Banshan Qiushui. They were the ones causing trouble!

Verifying the message wasted some time, and only then did she stand here at the last moment!

After Lu Bannong announced the rules, the moment that garnered everyone’s focused tension arrived.

The topic for the third round!

"As has always been the tradition in the Chinese medicine festival, also known as the Acupuncture Competition, the purpose is to test the proficiency of acupuncture of each participant. For the third round, we would like to test everyone’s skills. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Association has received many patients with rare diseases over the years. Today, the ten contestants will diagnose and treat one of these patients."

As he finished speaking,

Qiao Xi saw staff members carefully pushing out a mobile glass Sterile Room from the entrance, within which lay a hospital bed.

On it was a middle-aged woman.

Her eyes were tightly closed, and she looked very haggard. Yet, her features were exquisite, and her charm was evident.

A sleeping woman?

Was this their examination subject for today?

The audience craned their necks to see, but the media cameras did not zoom in on the woman’s face.

It was just a fleeting shot, blurry yet allowing a glimpse of her general features.

Perhaps it was for the patient’s privacy, not to be broadcasted.

Qiao Xi slightly furrowed her brow, looking at the woman who seemed to be lost in a deep sleep. With all this commotion, she still did not wake up – could she be in a vegetative state?

She hadn’t noticed the flash of surprise in Huang Bingyi’s eyes from the judges’ panel, or even the slight change in expressions of the old-timers sitting in the VIP seats who had come to observe the competition!

Lu Bannong noticed their reactions and smiled.

He had his reasons for bringing out this woman, aiming to kill two birds with one stone.

Hiding Cheng Han, who had mysteriously disappeared, should not miss his disciple’s competition, right?

If he saw this person, I wonder what he would feel?

"This Mrs. Cheng is your examination subject! We will not provide any information as a reference; it’s all up to your own observations! Each person is limited to ten minutes to determine her sickness. Contestants who give the wrong answer will be eliminated, and those who run out of time without an answer will also be eliminated!"

"You will each enter to take her pulse in turn, the order decided by drawing lots. Once you have your answer, write it down on the pulse record in front of you."

Qiao Xi didn’t dare to miss a single word, fearing she might fall into a trap.

Lu Bannong added, "If more than one person answers correctly, then there will be a tiebreaker."

Qiao Xi’s fingers clenched her clothes, silently pondering.

For Lu Bannong to make such a statement, that woman’s illness must be no simple matter! And the tiebreaker must surely involve acupuncture since this is an acupuncture competition!

So, the third round is about diagnosing the illness, while the tiebreaker is about treating the patient with acupuncture!

It’s just uncertain what extent of recovery is considered a cure!

The staff brought out the draw bucket and manually gave out draws to prevent any cheating that might occur with machine drawing.

Qiao Xi randomly picked one.

It read number one.

Now she didn’t know whether to think her luck was good or bad.

After the draw, the big screen displayed the draw rankings of all contestants, with Lu Yingxue being the very last.

These two, one at the beginning and one at the end, particularly stood out.

The hourglass in front of Qiao Xi was flipped, the countdown began!

Qiao Xi walked into the glass sterile room and realized that it was soundproof. No matter how noisy it was outside, it didn’t affect the patient inside.

There are many reasons that can lead to fainting or sleeping.

It could be a short faint or a prolonged one—there were no medical records on her bed, and almost zero useful information given.

But an experienced doctor would find the answer on the patient’s body.

She’s unconscious, rendering the traditional "look, smell, ask, and feel" useless!

She placed her hand on the pulse of the woman.

The pulse was feeble and fine.

Poor bodily functions, both qi and blood were deficient.

The central qi does not circulate, yin does not meet yang, and the brain is deprived of nourishment.

Qiao Xi furrowed her brows, then bent over to pry open the woman’s eyelids to check her pupils. She also looked at her tongue coating; the tongue was red with a thin white layer.

After a series of checks, she suddenly smelt a faint trace of long-term medicinal immersion on the woman’s body!

Very, very faint!

But her sense of smell was always keen, she caught it.

She carefully distinguished that trace of medicinal scent to figure out what it could be and combined it with the pulse diagnosis she had just made. She had a vague and uncertain answer in her mind.

She then stretched out her hand to examine the patient’s limbs and back, softly pinching the related muscle areas.

After doing all these, most of the ten-minute hourglass had slipped away.

Sun Weimeng, sitting in the VIP seats, was particularly impatient.

"Where did they find this woman? She hasn’t woken up despite the noise of the competition. Could she be in a vegetative state? That’s too simple, isn’t it?" Sun Weimeng earnestly watched the screen, even more anxious than Qiao Xi.

"How could it be a vegetative state?"

Old Chen said softly, "Since it’s a rare disease, it’s unlikely to be a vegetative state."

Sun Weimeng narrowed his eyes and said, "What if they’re deliberately mystifying? What if the result is indeed a vegetative state, to lead us to overthink things? What then?"

"This..."

Upon thinking about it, Old Chen felt this could indeed be a possibility.

Those old guards of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association are a bunch of seventies and eighties’ capricious old demons, each with a stranger temper than the last.

Who knows what they’re thinking!

"Huo Xingzhou, what do you think?"

Sun Weimeng turned his head to look at Huo Xingzhou, whose expression was indifferent, sitting there without any discernible emotion.

He ignored Sun Weimeng, instead saying, "Old Chen, go check on that unconscious woman."

"Yes."

Old Chen tentatively asked, "Young Master, do you think there’s something off about that woman?"

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